Pictured: The Keeper of Lost Causes: Department Q 1 by Jussi Adler-Olsen and Scott Frank (Getty Images)
Scott Frank’s big return to Netflix is Deparment Q, which was filmed throughout 2024 and is set to arrive on our screens sometime in 2025. We’ve now got the full cast and everything else you need to know about the new eight-part series based on the novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen.
The series adaptation of Department Q has been in development since at least 2014 when the US TV rights to adapt the series were sold to Scott Frank, the lead creator of this series. In 2020, it was reported that Sony-owned Left Bank Pictures would produce Department Q. Left Bank Pictures is behind many Netflix Original projects, including The Crown, White Lines, and Behind Her Eyes.
Production was announced to get underway in Edinburgh, Scotland, in February 2024 and, according to Gabrielle Monica Hughes, wrapped up in late June 2024. Filming took place across the city, including an action scene in Melvvile Street.
Frank is both the showrunner and director of the series, with the writing team including Stephen Greenhorn, Colette Kane, and Channdni Lakhani. Frank is best known for his work on two prior Netflix Original projects, Godless, and The Queen’s Gambit. His most recent project, Monsieur Spade, is airing on AMC and was added to Netflix US in August.
Pictured: Scott Frank
What’s the plot of Department Q?
Netflix’s Department Q is an adaptation of author Jussi Adler-Olsen‘s noir-thriller book series of the same name. Here’s the synopsis for the first book in the Department Q series, The Keeper of Lost Causes:
Carl Mørck used to be one of Copenhagen’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl—who didn’t draw his weapon—blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of Copenhagen’s coldest cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: a liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead.
But she isn’t dead … yet.
The book was published in 2007 and, according to the official Netflix logline, will be the source material for the first season. Netflix has revealed a longer logline for the series;
“Department Q is an adaptation of the novels of the same name from Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen. Written by Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane, the series revolves around Carl Morck, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case whilst wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead”
The book series has already been adapted into a film series in Denmark.
Who is cast in Department Q?
On February 6th, 2024, the main cast of Department Q was revealed.
Alongside the cast reveal, Netflix has also announced the names and descriptions of their roles.
Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game) plays the role of DCI Carl Mork;
“Detective, Carl Morck – brilliant but impossible – has his life turned upside down after a violent incident leaves his partner paralysed and an officer dead. Upon his return to work, he is tasked with setting up Department Q – a new cold case department, which is little more than a PR exercise. At first, being sidelined suits Carl; he’s happy to waste his days playing solitaire and skiving. Yet over the course of the series, Carl’s detective instincts are reawakened, and his new department down in the basement becomes an unlikely magnet for the misfits and mavericks of Chief Super, Moira’s police team. “
Chloe Pirrie (The Queen’s Gambit) plays the role of Merritt Lingard;
“Merritt, a ruthless and ambitious prosecutor, has quickly risen the ranks in the Crown Office. Merritt had a troubled childhood, raised by her absent father on the Isle of Mull. But after her brother William suffered a severe brain injury, she turned her life around and dedicated her life to him, whilst striving for justice in her role as prosecutor. However, in the wake of the biggest case of her career, Merritt decides she needs to make a change. As a result, Merritt and Carl’s paths collide.”
Alexej Manvelov (Chernobyl) plays the role of Akram Salim;
“Akram was an officer in the Syrian police force when civil war broke out. He decided to flee to Europe with his family. Unable to work as a cop in the UK, he petitions for work at Edinburgh’s police station, becoming Carl’s assistant. Akram keeps his past life in Syria private, but as the series goes on, Carl realises he’s underestimated his new partner.”
Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men) as Dr Rachel Irving;
“Dr Rachel Irving is the therapist charged with getting officers back on the front line. She’s smart, and she soon gets the measure of Carl, his trauma and his superiority complex. Intrigued by one another, the two develop a deeper connection across the series.”
Leah Byrne (Deadwater Fell) plays the role of Rose;
“Rose was a top police cadet with a promising future in the force. But a mental-health-related breakdown during her first year as a detective constable has left her on shaky ground. Demoted to a desk job, the stigma has followed her ever since. She appeals to Carl in his new department down in the basement for a chance to prove herself once again.”
The remaining cast members confirmed for Department Q are;
- Mark Bonnar (Napoleon) as Stephen
- Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter) as Clare Marsh
- James Sives (Guilt) as DS Hardy
- Samara McLaren (Merlin) as Donna Hardy
- Angus Miller (Outlander) as Colin Cunningham
- Kate Dickie (Inside Man) as Moira
- Lily Knight (The Gold) as Caroline Kerr
- Kim Allan (The Devil’s Hour) as Chloe Evans
- Alex Newman (Winnie Pooh: Blood and Honey 2) as Paul Evans
- Ellen Bannerman (The Alienist) as Kirsty Aitken
- Mark Bonnar (Unforgotten) as Stephen Burns
- Charlene Boyd (River City) as Victoria
- Kal Sabir (Slow Horses) as DCI Logan Bruce
- Douglas Russell (Peaky Blinders) as Graham Finch
- Jack Greenlees (Payback) as Sam Haig
- James McNaughton (Baldur’s Gate 3) as Dennis Piper
- Gilly Gilchrist (Outlander) as Sergeant Cunningham
- Caroline Guthrie (Annika) as Dr. Sonnerberg
- Conor Berry (Karen Pirie) as Barry
- Nolan Willis (Outlander) as Charlie Bell
- Sani Mamood (Granite Harbour) as Marcus French
- Gabrielle Monica Hughes (Two Doors Down) as Hardy’s Nurse
- Angus Yellowlees (Outlander) as PC Anderson
- Hanna Low (Doom Scrolling) as Elise
- Frances Mayli McCann (River City)
- Tom Duncan (Outlander) as David
- Nandi Hudson (Army of Thieves) as Catriona
- Aaron McVeigh (The Cleansing Hour) as Jasper Stewart
- Aron Dochard (The Witcher: Blood Origin) as DC Clark
- Clive Russell (Game of Thrones) in an unknown role
- Kai Alexander (Masters of the Air) in an unknown role
- Hugo Shack (Scud) in an unknown role
- James Paterson (Birds of a Feather) in an unknown role
- James Dawoud (Dog Squad) in an unknown role
- Coseama Cook in an unknown role
What’s the Netflix release date for Department Q?
At the Next on Netflix UK event, Netflix confirmed the series would debut sometime in 2025. Keep this article bookmarked for the latest.
Are you looking forward to watching Department Q on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
